This invention is directed to a novel Internet-based network of remotely located sensors that transmit data to a transmission means which may comprise earth orbiting satellites, wireless radio communications or the like. The system provides real-time global coverage of various environmental conditions including, but not limited to, hydrocarbon concentrations, water temperature, wind speed, plate tectonics, atmospheric pressure, toxin concentrations, and the like. Additional applications include, but are not limited to, tracking of animal migrations and densities, deforestation, polar ice cap activity, red tide and other geological, biological, atmospheric and oceanic conditions. Data from the sensors is stored in one or more database servers accessible through the Internet by standard protocols such as HTML and HTTP. End-users are able to submit Boolean queries to monitor a variety of environmental conditions. The relational database permits query results to be grouped by geographic location, environmental data type or a combination of both.
Satellite monitoring of environmental conditions is well known in the art as illustrated by this inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,679 entitled "Oil Spill Detection System." Weather satellites utilize cameras and other instruments pointed toward the earth's atmosphere. They provide advance warning of severe weather and are a great aid to weather forecasting. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ("NASA") launched the first weather satellite, Television Infrared Observation Satellite ("TIROS") 1, on Apr. 1, 1960. TIROS 1 transmitted approximately 23,000 photographs of the earth and its atmosphere. NASA operates the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites ("GOES"), which are in geostationary orbit. GOES provides information for weather forecasting, including tracking storms. GOES is augmented by Meteosat 3, a European weather satellite also in geostationary orbit. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates two satellites that collect data for long-term weather forecasting. These two satellites are not in geostationary orbits; rather, their orbits carry them across the poles at a relatively low altitude.
Satellite monitoring provides a communications link for remotely located instruments to upload environmental conditions to a monitoring station. Traditional satellites, called geosynchronous satellites, orbit at 22,300 miles above the earth's surface and routinely pass over a remote area every two hours. However, critical environmental conditions, such as oil spills, benefit from early detection as significant dispersion can occur within two hours.
For sensors that are in sufficient proximity to ground-based communications, a plurality of different wireless communications may be utilized including analog cellular, digital cellular, global system for mobile communications, personal communications service and specialized mobile radio. However, for remotely located environmental sensors outside the range of traditional wireless communications, another communications pathway may be required.
A possible solution is the use of low earth orbiting satellites ("LEOs") positioned from 435 to 1000 miles from the earth. Because placing satellites lower in orbit lowers the area to which each satellite transmission reaches a greater number of satellites are required. A low earth orbit minimizes the amount of fuel needed. In addition, a satellite in LEO can obtain clearer surveillance images and can avoid the Van Allen radiation belts, which contain harmful high-energy particles. It needs less powerful signals to communicate with the earth than satellites with higher orbits. A signal to or from a low earth orbit also reaches its destination more quickly, making LEO satellites especially good for transmitting data.
A global network of LEOs can provide continuous real-time coverage of environmental conditions through a satellite uplink from remotely located instruments. The satellite then receives the data and transmits it to a monitoring station. However, access to data archived at an individual monitoring station may be subject to the proprietary communications interface used by that station. Furthermore, if data for water temperature and salinity concentrations for a certain geographic area is sought to be compared, it is difficult to integrate data from multiple sources. A possible solution to this problem is to provide the data through a unified communications portal.
The Internet is a connection of multiple networks. The networks inter-operate over a suite of standardized protocols including TCP/IP, which sends data over the Internet in packets. Internet access to certain environmental conditions is also available, most notably in the form of weather information. Most information on the Internet is provided through a standardized navigation system called the World Wide Web ("WWW"). The WWW is a system that links documents such as home pages on distant computers together. HTML is the standard format for providing information on the WWW. The HTML format supports the use of forms by which databases may be accessed through a variety of search languages including Boolean, SQL and the like. A server-side executable program then processes the search and displays the results in HTML format.
Another problem experienced in environmental monitoring is the drain on human resources to continually monitor various condition levels for potential problems. An agency may require an employee to "stand watch" over a monitoring console in the event an abnormal condition is detected such as a possible earthquake or oil spill. A small amount of tectonic movement may not require human response just as a minute amount of hydrocarbons detected in an ocean may not signify an oil spill. Furthermore, notification of problem conditions may be limited to the monitoring station which must then relay the information to the appropriate response entity. This communications relay may cost critical time better utilized in preventing or remedying the situation.
Consequently, there is a need in the art for a global monitoring system that provides continuous real-time coverage of environmental conditions.
There is a further need in the art for a global monitoring system wherein a plurality of differing environmental conditions may be easily accessed for any geographic region.
There is a further need in the art for a monitoring system that provides easy access to historical data on past and present environmental conditions.
There is a further need in the art for a threshold notification system whereby when predefined environmental values are met, an automatic notification is issued to the proper authority or user.
However, in view of the prior art in at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how the identified needs could be fulfilled.